THEATRE IN THE WORLD

Topeng

with I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger

Masks, Movement and Meaning in Balinese Theatre

17 lessons · 3 hrs 18 min · 7 modules

What you’ll take away

By the end of this course

  • Understand Topeng within its Balinese cultural and spiritual context

    Explore how ritual, history, community and philosophies of harmony shape the purpose and practice of Topeng.

  • Recognise the principal Topeng masks and characters

    Understand how characters including Keras, Tua, Panasar, Dalem, Bondres and Sidhakarya contribute to the dramatic and ritual structure of performance.

  • Explore Topeng’s codified movement language

    Develop an understanding of agem, tandang and tangkep, and how alus and keras qualities shape physical characterisation.

  • Understand transformation through mask and embodiment

    Explore how breath, posture, rhythm, focus and the release of everyday identity enable the performer to bring the mask alive.

  • Analyse storytelling and improvisation in Topeng

    Discover how Babad narratives, humour, contemporary commentary and audience interaction combine structure with spontaneity.

  • Understand the relationship between performer, music and ensemble

    Explore how gamelan, voice, rhythm and collective awareness shape timing, atmosphere and theatrical presence.

  • Apply Topeng principles to your own theatre practice

    Use ideas drawn from mask, movement, rhythm, ensemble and improvisation as starting points for practical exploration, while engaging respectfully with the tradition.

About this course

What this course covers

Discover the extraordinary world of Topeng with renowned Balinese artist and scholar I Wayan Dibia and writer, educator and cultural specialist Rucina Ballinger. Combining expert guidance, authentic performance footage and practical student workshops, this course takes you inside Bali’s living tradition of masked dance-drama, where theatre, ritual, history, humour and community are deeply connected.

Explore the cultural and spiritual foundations of Topeng before moving into its practical performance language: sacred masks, character transformation, codified movement, gesture, voice, rhythm and improvisation. Discover how Babad chronicles bring Balinese history into performance, how gamelan musicians and performers work together, and how humour and audience interaction keep centuries-old stories responsive to the present.

Alongside the core lessons, you’ll encounter rare footage of Topeng within ceremonial and community contexts, practical workshops with students from Bali Island School, and supporting resources for further exploration. Whether you are teaching, studying or making theatre, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of Topeng as both a distinctive theatrical form and a living cultural practice, alongside practical ideas that can enrich your own theatre-making.

Before you enrol

Everything you need to know before you begin

Designed for

  • Theatre students exploring world theatre traditions and intercultural performance practice
  • Theatre teachers introducing Topeng, mask work or Balinese performance traditions
  • Performers and theatre-makers interested in mask, movement and physical transformation
  • Educators exploring embodied, ensemble-based approaches to theatre learning

How you’ll learn

  • Expert guidance from I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger
  • Authentic Topeng performance footage from Balinese ceremonial and community contexts
  • Practical demonstrations of masks, movement, character, voice and rhythm
  • Structured learning across five modules, moving from context into performance practice
  • Guided observation connecting cultural understanding with practical exploration

Course roadmap

How this course is structured

7 modules · 17 lessons · 3 hrs 18 min · 2 free previews

PROLOGUEWelcome to Topeng1 lesson · 6 min
MODULE ONETopeng in Context: Theatre, Ritual, and Community3 lessons · 17 min
  • Lesson 1: Origins of Topeng: Storytelling as CeremonyFree preview4 min
  • Lesson 2: Religion, Harmony, and the Community4 min
  • Lesson 3: Society, Caste, and Character9 min
MODULE TWOPerformance Conventions: Masks, Movement, and Transformation3 lessons · 37 min
  • Lesson 1: The Sacred Mask
  • Lesson 2: The Character Masks of Topeng16 min
  • Lesson 3: The Language of Movement and Gesture21 min
MODULE THREETraditional Performance Material: Storytelling and Improvisation3 lessons · 38 min
  • Lesson 1: The Journey of a Topeng Performance20 min
  • Lesson 2: The Narrative Source: The Babad5 min
  • Lesson 3: The Art of Improvisation13 min
MODULE FOURMusic, Voice, and Ensemble3 lessons · 29 min
  • Lesson 1: Performing with the Gamelan10 min
  • Lesson 2: Voice, Chant, and the Language of Play10 min
  • Lesson 3: Ensemble Awareness9 min
MODULE FIVEContinuity and Legacy: Topeng in the Modern World3 lessons · 1 hr 5 min
  • Lesson 1: Topeng Today8 min
  • Lesson 2: Enduring Meanings & Global Resonance5 min
  • Bonus Material: Topeng Sidhakarya — A Complete Ritual Performance52 min
EPILOGUECourse Closure1 lesson · 6 min
  • Course Wrap-Up: Closing Reflections6 min

Learn from the experts

About your presenters

  • Dr I Wayan Dibia

    Balinese performing artist, scholar and master teacher

    I Wayan Dibia is one of Bali’s foremost performers, choreographers, scholars and teachers of traditional Balinese performing arts. His career spans performance, choreography, research and education, with particular expertise in Balinese dance-drama and mask traditions. A former professor and director of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Denpasar, he has taught, performed and presented Balinese arts internationally, while remaining deeply connected to the living traditions and communities from which his practice emerges.

  • Rucina Ballinger

    Balinese arts and culture specialist, writer and educator

    Rucina Ballinger is a writer, educator and cultural specialist whose work has focused extensively on the arts, traditions and cultural life of Bali. A long-term resident of the island, she has written and taught widely about Balinese performance, ceremony and society, helping international audiences engage with Bali beyond its surface representations. Her work brings together cultural research, lived experience and a longstanding engagement with Balinese artists and communities.

Before you buy

Frequently asked questions

Do I need previous experience of Topeng or Balinese theatre?

No. The course begins with Topeng’s cultural, historical and spiritual foundations before progressively introducing its masks, characters, movement vocabulary, storytelling and performance conventions. No previous knowledge of Balinese theatre is required.

Is this course suitable for IB Theatre students and teachers?

Yes. The course is particularly valuable for those exploring world theatre traditions. It provides cultural context, specialist terminology, performance conventions, practical demonstrations and authentic performance material that can support both classroom learning and independent investigation.

Is the course practical or mainly theoretical?

Both. Cultural understanding provides the foundation, but the course continually moves into practice. You’ll observe workshops exploring mask, movement, rhythm, character, voice, improvisation and ensemble, with approaches you can investigate in your own practical work.

What additional content is included beyond the main lessons?

The course extends well beyond the presenter-led lessons. You’ll encounter rare excerpts from Topeng performed within ceremonial context, alongside filmed practical workshops with students from Bali Island School that demonstrate how key principles can be introduced and explored. Supporting materials also help you deepen your understanding and continue your investigation beyond the course itself.

ISTA Encore

Everything you need to know

Why do I need a free ISTA account?

Encore lives inside STAGE, ISTA’s online platform. A free account lets you open any course, watch its free preview lessons where they’re offered, and keeps everything you buy together on your ISTA profile. It takes a minute and there’s no charge to join.

How long do I have access to a course if I buy it individually?

For as long as the course stays on Encore, so you can come back to it whenever you like. ISTA may retire a course that becomes outdated or no longer meets our standards; where we can, we’ll give advance notice and time to finish it first.

What are the All-Access Passes?

Each All-Access Pass unlocks the whole Encore library for 12 months, including every new release during that year. There are three: the Educator Pass for one educator (£300 a year), the Class Pass for one educator and 30 students (£375 a year, with Ensemble or Company membership), and the Extended Class Pass for whole departments (from £400 a year, with Company membership). Changes to the library don’t affect the price of your pass.

Do I need to be an ISTA member to use Encore?

No. Anyone can buy single courses, or the Educator Pass for £300 a year, with a free ISTA account. Membership is only needed for the Class Pass and the Extended Class Pass, which bring Encore to your students.

I’m an ISTA member. What do I get?

Ensemble and Company members pay £250 a year for the Educator Pass, saving £50, and can add a Class Pass for their students. Company members can also build an Extended Class Pass for their department. Your pass sits on your membership, so you renew both together on one invoice. Solo members can add the Educator Pass at £300 to the same renewal.

When does my pass start and renew?

Passes can be bought at any time of year, and access begins straight away, whether you pay by card or by invoice. Invoices are due within 30 days. Members pay their member price, prorated by day to their next membership renewal; after that, pass and membership renew together each year on one invoice. If you join ISTA and buy a pass at the same time, both start and renew on the same date. Non-members pay £300 a year for the Educator Pass, renewing each year from the purchase date. Buying a pass never changes a membership renewal date.

I have an Educator Pass. What happens if I join ISTA later?

Any unused value from your pass is credited towards your new subscription, and your pass moves to your membership renewal date. From then on your membership tier sets your Encore price: £250 a year with Ensemble or Company.

Can I add or remove seats during the year?

Extra educator and student seats can be added at any time, prorated to your existing renewal date. Reductions take effect at your next renewal, with no mid-term refunds.

What happens to my pass if I change or leave my membership?

Upgrading starts straight away: the time left on your current plan comes off the price, and an Educator Pass moves to your new member price, with its unused time credited too. If you move to a tier that doesn’t include your pass, it stays active until the end of the paid term and isn’t renewed. If you leave, an Educator Pass can continue at the standard rate of £300 a year from your next renewal date; Class Passes and Extended Class Passes need eligible membership, so they stay active to the end of the paid membership term and aren’t renewed.

How does the Extended Class Pass work?

It’s a Class Pass with more seats, for Company members. Add educators at £75 a year each and students in blocks of 10 at £25 a year, and pay only for what your school needs. For example, 3 educators and 60 students cost £600 a year.

Who can use the student seats on a Class Pass?

Students with an email address on the same domain as their teacher’s, each signing in with their own free ISTA account. You can reassign or reset a seat at any time, so seats move on when a class changes.

Are Encore courses only for International Baccalaureate programmes?

No. They support IB programmes well, and they’re just as useful for AP, BTEC, A level and a wide range of other theatre and arts courses.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Every course includes a personalised ISTA Encore Certificate of Completion for your professional development records.

Are the courses for teachers or students?

Both. Teachers can take a course themselves and then use its lesson plans, presentations and resources with their classes, or students can explore a practitioner or tradition independently.

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